Rear Brake Moans (straight line??)

["Al Powell" <APOWELL@agcom.tamu.edu>]

No, this is not a straight line!!  I THINK I just solved a problems 
on my 1990 200 and wanted to see if others had experienced it also.

When backing out of the garage with cold brakes - at low speed - as 
we applied the brakes lightly, we'd get a WoooooOOOOOOOO from the 
rear brakes.  (Just about the same pitch you get from blowing across 
the mouth of an empty beer bottle, as we Audi owners are wont to do 
in contemplative moments...like contemplating how many cool ones are 
left...wait, where was I??  Oh yeah.)

This really sounded to me like a vibration between the (almost worn 
out) rear pads and rotors, even tho it wasn't the high pitch squeal 
which I believe is moe common.  Perhaps the low speed accounts for 
the low pitch?

Anyway, I decided to add (actually, renew) the high-temp disc pad 
lube between the backs of the pads and their contact surfaces.  I 
found out a NEAT LITTLE TRICK!!!!!

On the Girling type, single-piston rear brakes, it only takes 
removing ONE bolt to do this!!  All you have to do is remove the top 
bolt for the guide pin (you have to hold the guide pin's octagonal 
shoulder with an open end wrench, 14mm I recall) and you can rotate 
the caliper outwards far enough to get access to the side of the 
pads!!  At that point, it's real easy to carefully smear on a little 
high-temp lube between the two caliper fingers on the outside pad, and 
on the piston contact area on the inside pad.

This didn't seem to do the trick at first - but after the brakes had 
been warmed up and then cooled once, the noise has (so far) 
disappeared.  

Has anyone else had a similar problem and solved it?

ONE MORE THING::...

I've recently done the front brakes, but like many on this list, I 
hate the dust shedding that standard brake pads do.  When I do the 
backs, I could replace all four pads with Repcos, which (I think) 
others have commented work well and shed less dust.   The front 
torots should not be worn enough for replacing fairly the pads to be 
a problem.

When I replace the rears, I plan to do it myself.  Those rotors and 
pads shouldn't take long to replace.  

Any comments or advice on these thoughts??

Have a great 4th!!!



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Al Powell                           Voice:  409/845-2807
Ag Communications                   Fax:    409/862-1202
Texas A&M University                Email:  a-powell1@tamu.edu 
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